| Pages:
1
2 |
UnintentionalChaos
International Hazard
Posts: 1454
Registered: 9-12-2006
Location: Mars
Member Is Offline
Mood: Nucleophilic
|
|
I post here so much it must be verging on spam 
A reaction I just remembered that helped get me into chem is mixing an iron salt with gallotannic acid. The iron salt was homemade iron acetate made
by placing rusty iron scrap into vinegar with some table salt. The gallotannic acid was made by boiling oak bark and acorns in water. Pomegranate
skins would also have been an acceptable substitute. A very small amount of the tannic acid solution was added to a huge volume of water. Then, a bit
of iron acetate solution was drizzled in. It immediately turns intensely black wherever the iron solution moves as a black compound ppts. This is
better known as iron gall ink, arguably the most important ink in western civilization. No two sites seem to agree on what compound is actually
formed. I see ferric tannate, iron pyrogallol, and ferric gallic acid complexes all listed as what the coloring matter may be. Whatever it is, it sure
is interesting (and can dye cotton a very permanent dark gray/black).
|
|
|
Magpie
lab constructor
Posts: 5939
Registered: 1-11-2003
Location: USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Chemistry: the subtle science.
|
|
This is my favorite reaction:
Ca3(PO4)2 + 3SiO2 + 5C --> 3CaSiO2 + 2P + 5CO
so far, it has evaded my grubby little hands.
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
|
|
|
Tsjerk
International Hazard
Posts: 3032
Registered: 20-4-2005
Location: Netherlands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Mood
|
|
At the moment it's the grignard reaction for me. The beauty of the colors combined with the thought of the beauty of the product you have just formed.
If you do a grignard with methyliodide and magnesium in THF, the solution is clear at the start, then turns pale green, then starts to turn yellow,
then becomes very dark orange till it's brown (all in about 15min) and at the end it becomes a grey solution in about 5 seconds. Very nice to see,
like you have metal in solution. The reaction you do afterwards with the formed grignard isn't that interesting visualy, but if you imagine what is
happening, it's a my favorite reaction.
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2 |
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
